by John Johnston , The Cincinnati Enquirer

by John Johnston , The Cincinnati Enquirer

CINCINNATI -- Only a month into the year, the five fatal shootings in Cincinnati's Avondale neighborhood have exceeded the total for 2012 and 2013 combined.

Two of the five homicides occurred at the Colonial Village apartment complex on Irving Street; last year on that street and at its intersection with Forest Avenue, Cincinnati Police received 36 calls about shots fired.

It's the same area where, in December, two men exchanged gunfire and seriously injured a 3-year-old.

"It is bad up here," Kristin Williams, a 28-year-old single mother of three, said in the Colonial Village apartment where she has lived a year. "Once the sun goes down, I'm scared."

Such comments are a stark reminder that although long-troubled Avondale has made strides recently, serious challenges remain.

"Anytime you have five (fatal) shootings in a month, it's a step back," said Ozie Davis, executive director of the Avondale Comprehensive Development Corp., the nonprofit that has been leading redevelopment efforts in the neighborhood of 12,500.

"But we're not quitters. And neither are the residents."

Antonio Ruff, 18, Tyrone Coleman, 16, and Dontay White, 15, have been charged in connection with the Jan. 20 shooting death of William Moritz, 45, at Colonial Village. White has also been charged in the homicide of Deshawn Hutchinson, 35, who was killed Monday at the complex.

The shootings have shaken Irving Street residents such as Hellena Jones, a 29-year-old single mother of three boys.

"Yeah, I'm worried," she said, standing at the door of the home she rents just down the street from Colonial Village. "If I'd known it was this crazy, I would have never moved here." She said she had packed her belongings and would move again as soon as her landlord has an opening elsewhere.

One of Jones' neighbors, Julia Robinson, has no plans to leave. The retired nurse has lived in the same house on Irving since 1967.

Years ago, she had problems with people breaking into her home. "I went to an alarm system, and that stopped that," she said.

Since then, she has taken other precautions. She attended the Citizens Police Academy, got to know the police who patrol the neighborhood and received a concealed carry permit. She owns a gun she says she is not afraid to use.

"If (criminals) come in here, I'll light 'em up like a Christmas tree."

Residents of Colonial Village, which is subsidized housing, say drug dealers gained a foothold in their complex by befriending female renters, then turning those units into drug dens.

"And our lives are put at risk," said Williams.

Capt. Michael Neville, commander of Cincinnati Police District 4, confirmed that some of the problems at the complex stem from people who are not registered tenants but move in "and start taking over."

He said police had been working to address the problem before the recent homicides on Irving.

"We were instrumental in getting somebody evicted," he said. "And we already had a meeting scheduled with the (Chicago-based) owners." That will happen soon.

The complex marks the end of a dead-end street. That makes it easy for criminals to spot approaching police and flee, Neville said.

In a letter delivered to the complex's units, he tried to assure residents that police are committed to their safety.

"Police alone are never enough," Davis said. "But if police and residents are working together, you can (make) that street safe." The Avondale Comprehensive Development Corp. is organizing a meeting of Colonial Village residents on Friday.

There have been concentrated efforts to curb violence in Avondale in recent years through programs such as the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence and Project Nehemiah Ceasefire. Still, there were 44 non-fatal shootings in the neighborhood and two fatal shootings last year. In 2012, there was one homicide.

Irving, of course, is just one street in Avondale, a neighborhood where a number of good things are happening. Among them:

-- A $29.5 million federal housing grant will rehab five large apartment buildings and provide social services to residents.

-- Per Scholas, a national nonprofit that provides information-technology training and job-placement services for unemployed and underemployed people, opened in August.

-- The Avondale Youth Orchestra performed for the first time last month.

-- The Avondale Youth Council engages young people in work and service projects.

The shootings build resolve in neighborhood leaders and "make us work harder" to improve the quality of life in Avondale, Davis said.

"You learn to be resilient in a neighborhood like this," he said. "That resiliency is actually a strength. Not that you want bad times, but when you have them, you get strong people."